Legacy of the Portal Masters: The War for Earth

Chapter 7: Maia, Portal Master of Tech

Maia was a tinkerer. She always needed to be messing with something mechanical or she felt she would go insane. She was never diagnosed with ADHD, but no one would be surprised if she was. She couldn't sit still, and could always be seen messing with something. Her shoulder-length brown hair was tied behind her head as she craned her neck to look at whatever she was modifying. Mostly, she modified guns. Although she used to use Airsoft and Paintball guns, she started using Nerf guns, simply so she could modify them.

(Earth: Detroit, Michigan, Present Day)

Maia was out, Nerfing with some of her friends. She was doing a free-for-all death match in a forest. She snuck through the underbrush with her modded Retaliator, with brass barreling, a custom made pinpoint sight, and a fore-grip connected to the priming slide. She crouched under the arm of a tree, and hid herself in a bush. Her friends Joe and Rick had obviously formed an alliance, since they were walking next to each other. Maia took aim, and let loose two darts. She pegged the two guys straight in the forehead.

"Where did that come from?" Joe wondered out loud. Maia jumped out of the bush, causing the men to jump back.

"Alliances are prohibited." Maia stated. The men looked at each other, and their hands subtly went for their Nerf pistols. Maia primed her Retaliator, and they ran as she began landing painful blows on them. As Maia started to walk after them, something in the sky caught her eye. Five objects hurdled through the sky, followed by what appeared to be a man in a dark robe with a machine gun. Maia caught the objects and ran to hide in the underbrush. As the Crystal touched her palm, her mind filled with images of Skylands. As the figure she discerned to be the Tech Mage touched down on Earth, she took off to her car. She knew she had to lead him away from her friends. As she revved her engine, the Mage came crashing out of the woods. As he leveled his gun and aimed down the iron sights, Maia sped off. In her rear view mirror, she saw the Mage touch the door of one of her friends' cars, open it, and sped off in hot pursuit. Maia navigated through the twists and turns of Detroit, barely managing to control her vehicle.

'What are we going to do now?' Asked Trigger Happy, speaking in Maia's mind.

"Working on it." Replied Maia. As she drove, she released the Skylanders as they say in the back seat. "Boomer, punch out the windows. The back and side ones." he obeyed. "Good, now, I want Drobot and Trigger Happy to lean out the side windows, and Drill Seargent and Boomer to man the back one." As the heroes took their places, Maia turned onto a straight road. As she looked behind, she saw the Mage turn out behind her. "OPEN FIRE!" She screamed, and the Skylanders started firing at their foe. His car quickly became scorched and dented. As one of Boomer's dynamite landed on his hood, he shot out the tires of Maia's car. The Mage's car exploded, and the force of the blast, coupled with the popped tires, caused Maia's car to flip down the road for a minute straight. As it came to a rest on the hood, dented and smoking, Maia heard sirens in the distance. She tried to crawl out of the car, but realized her leg was broken.

"Guys, are you okay?" Maia asked.

"Affirmative." Replied Drobot.

"A little shaken, but okay." Said Boomer.

"All systems operational." Said Drill Seargent.

"Can we do that again?" Asked Trigger Happy with a shaky laugh.

"Guys, my leg is broken, and we'll be found soon." Maia stated. The heroes scrambled out of the wreckage and pulled her from it. She rolled onto her back and faced the car. She gripped her Crystal in one hand, and held her other out to the car. It shifted and twisted, folding in on itself until it was a Portal. Maia, with the aid of Boomer, hoisted herself up onto the Portal, and Blasted herself into Skylands.